from Denver

This post comes from Denver where I am currently attending the annual AERA conference. I'm sitting up in my hotel room - it's pretty cold and from the window of this room I can see mountains that have snow on them (although they are in the distance).

I always find AERA a pretty demanding conference although try to make the best of the opportunities that being here affords. This arvo I attended a very good presentation on Doctoral Research. I am a new member of the SIG and so will try to attend as many presentations as possible. There seem to be a few Australians who are members and so attending the presentations and the SIG business meeting allows me (perhaps to meet some of those folk). More broadly, I am interested in the experiences of other academics whose teaching (and research) is focused on the doctoral experience.

More mundane things that being at AERA presents? It always has to be coping with jet lag. My first evening was fine because I was so sleep deprived that I slept like a log. Last night (and the second night in the US) was a different story. At 4 am I was still awake. It's an awful feeling and certainly doesn't help concentration during the day. I expect another bout of sleeplessness tonight and then I will be okay.

Denver seems like a pretty nice place. It reminds me a bit of San Diego but that is probably because of the trams and the fewer numbers of highrise buildings. I hadn't realised that it is a mile-high place so some of us have experienced a little shortness of breath. I was glad to find out that cos having a heart attack was my first thought when I experienced it!